Dragon's Lair (1990 video game)

Dragon's Lair (ドラゴンズレア) is a cinematic platform video game developed by Motivetime and published by CSG Imagesoft for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Based on the LaserDisc game of the same name, it is identical plotwise to the original.

Gameplay
The game is a side-scroller with the character walking slowly. Dirk can walk, crawl, or jump forward, and he has an array of weapons that he can discover and use to dispose of enemies. There are seven areas of the castle and four main levels of play.

Regional differences
PAL and Famicom versions have faster gameplay than the original North American release due to improved framerate. Both versions also use 256KB ROMs compared to the US's 128KB ROM. Furthermore, the PAL version has also additional enemies in The Entrance Hall level: spiders, flying insects, and a giant snake boss at the end; new death animation (when Dirk gets flattened); splash screens that appear as the player enters each level (beside The Dungeon stage); and The Elevator Shaft area has increased difficulty with added projectiles flying around, touching one is instant death. The Japanese and PAL versions play most of the songs faster. Also, a part of the ending theme was changed.

The 30 Life Code was added exclusively to the PAL and Japanese versions. It gives 30 lives to the player after they gain a high score and enter "BATS" as their name. The player will get the extra lives in their next game.

Reception
The game was panned by critics due to its poor controls, sluggish movement, and immense difficulty level. The game was especially criticized for the player dying in one hit from most obstacles and enemies, despite the player having a health bar.